Some crafty distractions

Today started off pretty normal. The boys woke up too early, porridge was thrown around the kitchen and we wondered aloud when we'd ever get a lie in again.

But then, the day improved dramatically with a package of Fimo from the lovely Merrily at CraftMerrily. In fact, Bigger was so excited at the prospect of modelling his very own monsters that he promptly collided with the sofa, knocking his wobbly tooth so that it protruded at rather an alarming angle. A trip to the emergency dentist ensued, but Bigger is now happily tucked up in bed clutching his first tooth for the tooth fairy.

But back to the Fimo. After all that excitement, some Fimo modelling was just the sort of calm activity we needed this afternoon.

Fimo fun

At first we did find the Fimo quite difficult to work with, but as it (and we) warmed up, we got a feel for how best to mould it into shape. The kit we tried had some ideas of what you could make as well as some step-by-step instructions, which were quite handy. 

Toothless (the dragon or the boy?)

Bigger made a dragon and I (cough. well yeah, of course I had a go!) made the Loch Ness Monster. What do you think?

Nessie in a fetching stripe ensemble

We've also got some Soft Fimo to try out, so I'll be interested to see if our modelling skills improve. I do lov doing this sort of thing, but so often end up taking over and poor Bigger ends up spectating. But I was very restrained today and limited myself to my Loch Ness Monster, leaving Bigger to model his Fimo the way he wanted to and not the way I wanted to. This sort of activity is great for fine motor skills and concentration and it's just a fun way to spend time with my boy. Winners all round.

I might just have to order some Fimo for my own personal use though. Can't have Bigger having all the fun ;-)

I don't think I'll ever be able to make this sort of thing though. I'll stick to Nessie and her mate Sammy the snake. But this site here, which is Merrily's family blog has some great Fimo ideas. We'll definitely read more of her blog before we get stuck into the 2nd pack of Fimo! Practice makes...well, maybe not perfect but hopefully I can graduate from sausage-body based animals.

Disclosure: We were sent 1 Fimo Soft Create Your Own Monsters & Dinosaurs Set and 1 Fimo Soft Basic Starter Kit  from Craft Merrily to review but did not receive any other financial incentive and the words are all my own.